Turbomachines, such as steam turbines, are designed to operate across a range of load conditions to produce power, e.g., for supplying a power grid. However, turbomachines (e.g., steam turbines) are ultimately rated to operate at a desired (target) load condition where the turbomachine is most efficient. Due to varying output requirements, these turbomachines cannot always function at their desired (target) load condition. As such, many turbomachines spend time running at part-load, low-part-load and/or low-load conditions, each of which is a fraction of the desired load for that turbomachine.
At these lower load conditions, components in the turbomachine can endure higher than desired temperatures. These temperature conditions can force design engineers to user higher-strength (higher-cost) materials in the turbomachine, leading to higher overall system costs.